“I expect to find shit like this on one of the pirate islands or in the worst parts of the land cities. Barbarism. You may have shined it up a bit, but that's still what this is. Cruelty for the sake of being cruel. A bunch of higher life forms forcing lower ones to do terrible things for their entertainment.”
“Zix, they're crabs,” Vax huffed. “We eat them.”
“Does that make it all right to torture them first?” I shoved away from the railing and walked away. “You're no better than the Frellen.”
“Frellen?! What the fuck?” he growled. Then he called after me, “Where are you going?”
“I need some space. And don't fucking follow me. Let me cool off.” I glared at Vax's knights who stood guard at the door. “And don't send them after me either.”
“Zix, you're a duke now. My mate. You need—”
“Don't!” I pointed at him. “I'm really angry right now, Vax. Angry and sick to my fucking stomach. Just fucking disgusted! Let me cool off before I say something I'll regret.”
Vax grimaced, but nodded—first at me, then at his guards.
One of the Sea Dragon knights opened the door for me. I rushed out into an empty hallway. The roar of the crowd was dulled in there and it helped to calm my racing hearts. Still, it wasn't enough. I loved Vax, but I was realizing that I didn't know him. I knew his soul. I knew what a good man he was. But I didn't knowhim. His likes and dislikes, what he did for fun, how he drank his fucking tea—all the little things that created a personality. I wasn't upset that I didn't know those things. The knowledge would come in time. I was upset because I'd just seen one of his likes that I didn't like.
“And I call myself a pirate,” I muttered as I left the private corridor and passed yet more guards, these assigned by the theater.
They nodded at me as I passed, and I nodded back. It was all the politeness I could manage. Frankly, every person in that place disgusted me. They lived their peaceful lives, never having to worry about starvation or fighting for survival. And then they went to watch others fight.
As a pirate, I shouldn't care. Violence shouldn't bother me. But Teng and his crew were different from other pirates. We didn't kill unless we had to. We looked at what we did as a job. And we never stole from people who couldn't afford to lose something. There was honor in how we lived. And you know what? Even vicious pirates, those who enjoyed killing as well as stealing, were at least honest about themselves. They lived barbarism. I imagine it became hard to separate it from their free time. If they participated in violent pastimes, it was expected. Not acceptable, but expected. They were who they were and didn't pretend to be otherwise. But these people were charlatans and cowards. They craved violence but were too weak to go out and commit it themselves. So, they came to places likethis and forced it on others. Then they cheered and bet on the fucking outcomes! Pathetic.
I looked around at the employees manning the betting booths and food carts. A few people were lined up to spend their money and support this terrible place. I wanted to shout at them that they were all a bunch of gutless bastards who needed the thrill of watching weaker creatures fight to live because they'd never faced a day's hardship in their entire lives. I was just so fucking furious!
Unfortunately, that meant I was also distracted.
“Well, well, well. Here we were, trying to form a plan to get you away from the Sea King, and you just sauntered over to us.”
I spun toward the sound of the voice, but it was too late. Something pierced my skin and a cold rush shot through my arteries. My muscles gave out, and I fell into a pair of muscular, furred arms.
“Whoa, Zixin! You've had too much to drink, my friend,” the Hulfrin said. “I've got you.”
My head lolled as the drug sank deeper. I couldn't speak, much less cry out for help. All I could do was watch the few people there back away and shake their heads. As if I was the shameful one! The motherfuckers. But it wasn't time for that shit. It was time to fight. I had . . . to . . . what was I doing again?
The arch of the amphitheater entrance passed over us, and I stumbled. The Hulfrin picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. I watched in a daze as the sidewalk stones passed below me. A broad back covered in sturdy black cotton was under my hands. I caressed the fabric. It was so soft.
A chuckle came. “He's stroking my back.”
“I think I may have given him too much oppulen,” someone else said.
“I hope it doesn't kill him. The Captain will hang us up by our toe claws if he dies.”
“Nah. He'll be fine. He's Neraky, not human.” A snicker. “Just don't let him near your junk.”
“Why not? A mouth is a mouth.”
More laughter followed me into oblivion.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Vax?” I groaned as I rolled over.
I was on a bed, but not the one I'd grown used to. There was no coral canopy over it and the mattress was too hard. It was more like my old bed—narrow and tucked against a wall. I felt the swaying of the sea and knew it wasn't just a wall. It was the hull of a ship.
“Fuck.” I sat up abruptly.
I was in a ship's cabin. Small, so not the Captain's, but still, it was private, which meant it belonged to one of the officers. There were no personal items in the cabin, nothing to tell me who normally bunked there. Or who I'd been kidnapped by.
